


We're the Same, You and Me

by starsandauras



Series: The World's a Beast of a Burden [10]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Mention of food consumption that could be perceived as disordered, Multiple Warriors of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Pre-ARR, Sex workers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25957579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsandauras/pseuds/starsandauras
Summary: Someday they'll be Warriors of Light. But for now they're just two sex workers gossiping in a corner.
Series: The World's a Beast of a Burden [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1233692
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	We're the Same, You and Me

Brigid did not love the days spent as an escort, standing at someone’s arm at some hoity-toity function. She didn’t _hate_ it, of course. The gil was objectively better those nights, after all. The lack of variety (and the amount of time spent _on_ her feet) made things much less than enjoyable.

She huffed lightly as her partner for the night (a nondescript midlander) continued blathering about some business and she let her eyes drift in boredom, eventually landing on the buffet table. Well, if she _must_ spend her time amongst people who had never had a dirt floor, she was certainly going to eat their food. She lightly touched her partner’s arm, drawing his attention for long enough to let him know she would be stepping away. He turned away before she could say _where_ , of course, but she considered it his problem, not hers.

The plates were terribly tiny, except perhaps for lalafells, she realized when she reached the table. Was starvation in fashion with the Ul’dahn ladies again? Well, better than the binging, less food wastage that way. There was enough of that as it was. She selected a small sandwich (for propriety) and several of the sweetmeats (for her absolute sweet tooth) before departing for an empty corner she had spotted earlier.

Only to find it not so empty anymore.

She found it now occupied by a miqo’te, male if she had to guess. Long red hair, shot through with silver, swept up in the elaborate braided style growing popular in Ul’dah of late. Beads, charms, and feathers dangled from the ends of several small braids, and she imagined they would chime as he moved. A lush, fluffy tail curled near his feet, and the silks draping his body were only slightly less fine than those worn by the known nobility.

The way his golden, slitted eyes appraised her (red hair loose and wavy, a finely woven cotton satin dress instead of silks) made it clear to her that they were the same: whores at worst, courtesans at best.

She dipped her head slightly as she settled near him, smiling gently. “Hope you dinnae mind if I’m joinin’ you. ‘Tis… stifflin’, this lot.”

The miqo’te smiled at her, a fang catching on his lower lip. “Indeed,” he agreed, scooting over just a little, enough to give her some room. “Who are you with?” he asked, not even attempting to pretend either of them were anything other than what they were.

She smiled and quickly ate the tiny finger sandwich. “Lord Valgard,” she said, head tilting in his direction. The midlander’s laugh boomed across the room as she did, and both she and her new friend wrinkled their noses. “And you then? Who’s arm are you havin’ to hang on to?”

He made a face that reminded her of someone smelling a most unpleasant odor. “S’leja,” he grumbled, flicking clawed fingertips in the direction of a black haired miqo’te draped in silks dyed a hideous shade of metallic green.

She blinked in surprise. “I was hearin’ S’leja was only selectin’ lasses,” she offered slowly, wondering if she had guessed her new friend wrong. Her apology was cut off before it began, however, by mirthful laughter.

“He does,” was the agreement, accompanied by a pleased swish of a tail, “but we don’t allow him the services of our women anymore.” Another nose wrinkle. “He treats them… poorly.”

Brigid sighed and smiled. “Aye, so I’m also hearin’.” She popped a chocolate truffle into her mouth, savoring the rare indulgence before speaking again. “Golden Rose,” she offered, “of the Gilded Rose.”

The miqo’te’s ears twitched and he smiled slightly, showing a fang. “Ruby Tia,” he returned, bowing with a flourish. Even his tail was involved, moving to twist fondly around her ankles. “From the Coeurl’s Claw.”

Brigid smiled and returned his bow with a curtsy of her own. “A pleasure to be meetin’ you, Ruby darlin’,” she murmured as she rose. The two fell into comfortable silence as they watched the crowd, business folks and their companions milling about.

Ruby nudged her arm at one point and tilted his head towards a rather garishly dressed Hrothgar, a motley of metallic-looking fabrics that all clashed. “Gil certainly can’t buy taste, hm?” he asked with an almost wolfish grin.

Brigid’s eyes narrowed for a moment before widening suddenly, leading to a bright laugh that she failed to muffle. “Oh Twelve,” she gasped between laughs. “I’m knowin’ that one! ‘Twas bein’ a customer a few times.” She glanced around before scooting closer to Ruby, grinning widely. “Gil’s nay buyin’ him any skill in bed, either,” she whispered. “Dinnae think I’m ever havin’ a worse customer at that. Like a limp fish he was, makin’ me do all the work.”

Ruby hid a laugh behind a hand, but she could see his eyes twinkling with mischief. “The worst customer,” he agreed. His eyes scanned the room and he nodded at an Au Ra. “He left in the middle, but at least he paid me for the time he _would_ have spent.”

Brigid gasped, mortally affronted by the sheer _idea_. “The _nerve_!” she agreed.

Apparently between the two of them they had either serviced every nobleperson in the room or knew someone who did, and traded stories of the worst ones or sang praises of the ones who were exceptional customers. They didn’t pass names that weren’t already known to them both, privacy being a cornerstone of their business. The lanterns soon dimmed, indicating to the guests that night had fallen outside, and many started to take their companions home, or at least to the nearest cheap inn.

When neither Lord Valgard nor S’elja came to collect their wayward partners the two relaxed slightly, leaning against the wall. Brigid sipped from the glass that Ruby had brought her at some point, and she sighed. “Were you always wantin’ to be doin’ this?” she asked distractedly.

Ruby sipped from his own drink, eyes distant. He took several minutes to finally respond, “No,” quietly. “Did you?”

Brigid shrugged. “Maybe. Once ‘twas ‘currin’ to me I could be doin’ it, wasnae seemin’ a terrible idea. Gil’s bein’ good. Me feet are startin’ to itch though.”

Ruby nodded. “I want to learn to heal,” he said quietly, as though it was a secret he had never allowed voice. “To travel.”

She tapped her glass against his, a sad toast. “Someday,” she murmured, a quick flash of _something_ passing through her mind. “Someday you’ll be wanderin’, healin’ the sick, and I…” She shrugged, downing the dregs in her glass, then laughed. “Who’s to be knowin’? Nay me, certainly. Only the Twelve.”

Ruby laughed and tapped her glass in return, a weak smile curling his lips. “As the Twelve decide,” he agreed before also draining his glass.

* * *

“Ah, how wonderful to see you Bri!” Minfilia greeted her, a bright smile on her face. “You’re just in time to meet the newest member of our group.”

Brigid laughed softly, eyes focused on Minfilia as she lowered her hood. “Oh? Am I now?” she asked, smile soft on her face. She turned to the person also in the room with them, and she had to quickly school away the shocked expression on her face.

For there stood Ruby Tia, barely changed for the time that had passed. A codex sat at his hip ( _not_ a grimoire, her brain helpfully supplied, Ruby had learned to heal after all), dressed down to cotton traveling clothes, hair bereft of feathers but still replete with beads, and it was only slightly shorter than the last she had seen him. His eyes lit up in recognition but still he bowed to her as though this was the first time they had met. “F’eli Tia, a pleasure to meet you.”

Brigid nodded, smiling brightly. “Brigid O’Donnell, a pleasure to be meetin’ you as well, lad.” When Minfilia turned away, searching for some paperwork on her desk, Brigid mouthed _hello Ruby._

_Hello Rose,_ F’eli mouthed back, eyes twinkling in mirth.


End file.
